The safety devices available for front seat passengers (this term being used to include the driver) of an automotive vehicle may be divided in two types, namely, the passive restraint and active restraint.
An active restraint generally comprises a member which is movable and is activated upon sudden deceleration of the vehicle, e.g. as a result of a collision, to present a surface to the passenger which prevents a rapid movement of a portion of the body of the passenger toward the dashboard or windshield of the vehicle. Typical of such active restraints are inflatable bags, belts which are activated upon collision, and movable members which can be swingable on the floor of the vehicle, on the seat or on the steering column to intercept the forwardly moving body of the passenger.
Passive restraints, by contrast, generally need not be activated by collision or sudden deceleration, and are positioned to retain a portion of the body in place. Such restraints include seat belts which can be non-yieldable.
While the art is aware of numerous restraints for the upper portion of body, designed principally to prevent the head of the passenger from impacting upon the windshield, it is also vital that lower body restraint be provided to prevent the lower portion of the torso from sliding forwardly on the seat and causing significant injury to the passenger in the event of a collision or the like.
It is known, in this connection, to provide a restraint for retaining the lower portion of the torso on the front seat of the vehicle against a tendency for this portion of the passenger's body to shift forwardly by disposing in the region of the knees of the passenger and providing this member with an energy-dissipating yieldable surface which gives as the passenger tends to be thrown forwardly.
In German patent document 23 24 571, for example, this member occupies considerable space and renders the region forwardly of the member, i.e. the portion of the dashboard behind the surface of the member confronting the passenger, substantially inutile and inaccessible, e.g. for repair or maintenance purposes.
The German patent document 25 10 725 discloses an adjustable restraining member which is coupled to the vehicle seat and is adjustable in height depending upon the position of the seat. In this case as well the restraining member limits seriously access to the region of the passenger compartment directly ahead of the member.